I wasn't sure what you were referring to, then I read on the website it said the pads were leather... this was an assumption done by our web developer, and it was put on the site in error. (I had never heard of leather pads on a flute myself). Anyway, we corrected the verbiage on the site (this is a newly launched website) so thank you for catching that for us, giving us a chance to correct it.
The pads on the newest models are actually assembled with an Italian yellow skin Pisoni double bladder felt pad, applied normally.
Thanks,
I was wondering. It has been tried, so I was wondering. Thanks for clarifying.
In case anybody has students looking to buy for less than a new one, there are two re-built Gemeinhart flutes on ebay in the CE Winds store, one is a 2SP and the other is an M3. Both play well and with the new pads will help students learn to perform well and last long when used under the proper handling and playing conditions.
New CE Winds flute are being sold on ebay at very low auction prices. These all play exceptionally well, and are full concert system flutes. An amazingly good deal!
I'm now ready to report on the C E Winds Alpha I flute which I purchased. Following a couple of weeks experience with the flute, I feel confident that I can give a report which is fair and with the help of my teacher, again a professional, I feel an accurate report. Bottom line, this is an excellent flute and well worth the price. When it arrived, the outer box was fairly beat up, the result of a rough delivery. While the flute was well packed, when I opened the case, there was one Neoprene bumper which had come loose, other than that, no damage done to the flute. Glueing the bumper back on was an easy fix.
We found that initially, the flute seemed to leak air. My teacher quickly noticed that there was something in the head joint which was hard to identify. The cork was removed and it was discoverd that the entire length of the cork had been wrapped in teflon. Clearly, the cork was too small for the dia. of the headjoint and the headjoint leaked air badly. The item which could be seen in the headjoint was actually a piece of the teflon tape that hung down over the metal piece attached to the cork near the embouchure hole and this, in combination with the leaking air, produced a very poor tone. The cork was replaced by my instructor and properly sealed with wax, as it should have been in the first place. The teflon tape solution would have been a tempory fix at best and not what I expected in a new flute, right out of the box. After the cork was properly installed, it played very, very well and the intonation was/is excellent.
One other item, upon arrival, the flute was tarnished quite a bit and it required a clean up job. A bit of polish and some elbow grease took care of that quickly and it is beautiful in all aspects.
This flute is an excellent value and has a wonderful tone. I and my instructor think that C E Winds have a winner here. The proof will be in the way it lasts over time, which is something that can't, of course, be predicted. Also the availiablity of parts is critical, so that the flute can be maintained over time. Absent the adaquate supply of parts, this would become a throw away flute, which would be very sad in my opinion. Again, following a really good review, I certainly would recommend this flute to anyone. I should perhaps point out that I'm not a professional by any means, only a student.
Last edited by Donald Morgan on Sat Aug 21, 2010 6:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.
I am the technician who prepared it. I suggest you buy some 3M Silver Protector Strips and keep one in the case. They're are inexpensive and may save you a lot of time, which you can spend practicing:) Just remember to change to a new one every three months.
Many thanks for your informative report on the new CE Winds flute you recently purchased. I am glad to hear that it plays well for you, after the initial issue with the head joint cork seal was resolved by your teacher. In combination with all of the other prep work it needed, I must admit that I tried a "quick fix" to seal the H.J. cork, and it obviously did not stay in place. I apologize for putting you through that. I respect your honesty, and appreciate your feedback. It will not happen again, thanks to you!
Before I did my 3+ hours of prep work, it was quite tarnished, i.e. the head joint was almost completely black. The entire flute needed complete dismantling in order to get all the tarnish off. I was surprised to hear that you found there was more tarnish. But that was minimal, and now you know that if you want it to stay looking like new it will require some more cleaning from time to time.
My preparation work also included the fine and final playing adjustments to all of the key-work, and it was re-assuring to me to hear that it plays well. I agree these are excellent flutes for the price, and I wish you many years of flute playing satisfaction, via the joys of performing music on a well tuned instrument!!!
Daniel[/quote]
New CE Winds flute are being sold on ebay at very low auction prices. These all play exceptionally well, and are full concert system flutes. An amazingly good deal!
They sat around in cases unused for about one year, and the silver plating tarnished. This, among other reasons, (you could ask Brian), is why they are being sold on ebay at clearance prices. The newest CE Winds flutes are being made by a different manufacturer. The first series of CE Alpha flutes all play very well, however, but for various reasons they decided to go with a different flute maker. These original CE Flutes are still new instruments and will be fully cleaned and prepped for the ebay auctions. I hope this answers your questions about the flutes.
I cannot attest to the "air in China".
New CE Winds flute are being sold on ebay at very low auction prices. These all play exceptionally well, and are full concert system flutes. An amazingly good deal!
cflutist wrote:????? If these are new flutes, why are they so tarnished?
Is the air that bad in China?
What am I missing here?
I did notice when I was in Shanghai, China that all of the metallic instruments that sat in the air too long would be tarnished pretty quickly. I would go to music shops, and all of their horns were wrapped in plastic. It was the same way in Taiwan as well. The first time I went to China, I bought a guitar. The Guitar was new, but all of the hardware on it was oxidized. I have always thought it was because of the pollution, and the vapor from being close to the ocean.
Hey Phineas, Good to hear from you, & thanks for the info. Interesting to know about the air quality conditions in China.
As far as the first series of CE Winds flutes, the one intermediate and one pro prototype models, both of which are heavily plated, have not tarnished at all, so go figure...
Keep playin', and just remember, it's not about how it looks, it's how it sounds!
Daniel
New CE Winds flute are being sold on ebay at very low auction prices. These all play exceptionally well, and are full concert system flutes. An amazingly good deal!
cflutist wrote:????? If these are new flutes, why are they so tarnished?
Is the air that bad in China?
What am I missing here?
It's really the air (humidity) in Florida that's the problem. This is the same reason we do not generally stock Silver Saxes here (mostly special order only), because after weeks, not months, they tarnish. Jewelry is not even exempt from tarnishing. When it's 95 degrees, and the humidity is at 80-100%, the heat index is usually about 15-20 degrees hotter, and even keeping instruments in a temperature controlled environment does not completely stop the tarnishing process. It's tough here.
We initially ordered these models and were and are still very happy with them. We didn't make them available to the public for sale though until we tested enough models to see the consistency (which is why we had such a large supply of these), which the consistency has been there, however, it was strictly a business decision to choose another factory to build our flutes (not based on quality however), and the company we have chosen now has given us great service, great quality, and is closely tied into our current factory we are working with. It just makes sense now that we are doing it this way.
Thanks for all the help and suggestions, comments, critiques, etc. It is all useful when trying to make the best decisions for our customers.
cflutist wrote:????? If these are new flutes, why are they so tarnished?
Is the air that bad in China?
What am I missing here?
It's really the air (humidity) in Florida that's the problem.
Humidity is not a cause for tarnish. Sulfur compounds are. Humidity can speed up the process but it is not the cause. There are a multitude of methods used to prevent tarnish or at least retard tarnish accumulation on silver instruments and they do work quite well.
The most common cause of in case tarnishing is off-gassing of the glue used to attach the nice lining in the cases. Sometimes it is in the lining itself.
If your area has sulfur content in the air, you will also have tarnish problems. Humidity problems merely trap more of these particles and speed up the process.
Slightly off topic but I have never been able to figure out why two of my instruments tarnish, while two others still look brand new 7 years later when all are being played and stored in the same house.
My Haynes and my picc with solid silver keys tarnish. My Gemmy and Emerson Alto, both with solid silver body but plated keys do not. It does look like they plate the solid silver body too to match the plating on the keys though. Is that because silver plating does not tarnish?
Is the Haynes case still outgassing 38 years later? Bought that flute in 1972.
All 4 instruments have 3M stripes in the case too.
Slightly off topic but I have never been able to figure out why two of my instruments tarnish, while two others still look brand new 7 years later when all are being played and stored in the same house.
My Haynes and my picc with solid silver keys tarnish. My Gemmy and Emerson Alto, both with solid silver body but plated keys do not. It does look like they plate the solid silver body too to match the plating on the keys though. Is that because silver plating does not tarnish?
Is the Haynes case still outgassing 38 years later? Bought that flute in 1972.
All 4 instruments have 3M stripes in the case too.
I'm scratching my head on this one
That's really unusual since after a new case off gases, the problem diminishes. These are usually attributed to local conditions and player's body chemistry speeding up the process but yours is inconsistent.
It most likely has to do with the condition of the silver plate being compressed more. Silver is silver, either as plating or components. Some older makers of flutes did a lot more burnishing to compress the silver surface down. This reduces the air space in the upper most layer of grain structure where these gaseous compounds interact. Less compressed equals more surface area to interact causing more tarnish.
Paul Laubin, the Oboe maker, has an extensive key burnishing method and his silver keywork rarely tarnishes because that outer layer is burnished down.
Burnishing to polish is a lost art these days since it is extremely labor intensive and time consuming, but it is my guess that your issue is a result of this phenomenon in some form.
